On a recent trip, near Albury, we came across something that got me thinking about the influence writers and illustrators have.
Writing is often a solitary vocation. I think I have aspired to be a writer most of my life. I was one of those children who always had my head in a book or was in my room writing fantasy stories, terrible poetry and listening to music on repeat.
I used to draw little characters to amuse myself and my little brother. I was nine years older and frequently found myself playing babysitter. I often made up stories about the characters I drew. My brother would giggle and squeal with delight as the characters got up to all sorts of mischief.
There are books I read as a young person that re-shaped my thinking completely. Reading fantasy stories opened my mind to endless possibilities. ‘A Wrinkle in Time’ by Madeleine L’Engle was one of the first books that had a profound impact on me. It blew my twelve-year-old mind. A whole world of fantasy opened up to me and I was never the same again.
Side note:Apparently the book ‘A Wrinkle in Time’ was rejected by publishers over thirty times. It then went on to win the Newbery Medal. According to Wikipedia, “In a 2012 survey of School Library Journal readers, A Wrinkle in Time was voted the best children’s novel after Charlotte’s Web.” How did Madeleine keep going? To keep sending it to more publishers after so many rejections. I wish I could have told her about the difference she made to this young writer.
Another huge influence in my life was Tolkien. I wanted to go on a journey to Rivendell and perhaps live there. I was eighteen, living and working in NSW, a long way from my family. I was struggling to navigate the world. I discovered ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings,’ and my world was changed forever. I vanished into the lands Tolkien described in such graphic detail. I went on the journey with the nine. I cringed when Gollum entered the story and was terrified by the Balrog. Tolkien’s world was a magical place and I found that I couldn’t put the book down. I snuck it into my work desk and read it when no one was looking. It gave me a glimpse into a world far removed from the difficulties and dramas I faced in my day-to-day life. It was a wonderful escape from reality. No other fantasy book has come close. I read it every year until the movies came out. I still re-read it now, although much more sporadically. Reading all the other disappointing fantasy books in some way spurred me on to write. I wanted to write a book I’d like to read.
When writers and illustrators sit alone at a desk or in a café scribbling down stories, among the hubbub of life, it isn’t helpful to ask whether or not our writing will have an influence or profoundly affect anyone. That would be far too much pressure. The reality is, writers have an influence whether they know it or not. Not always life-changing, yet sometimes it may be enough to get a person to love reading. That, my friend, is a worthwhile thing.
Side note: I love sitting in cafés, like this one pictured here. It was in the French countryside, which was a rare treat. Isn’t the cup and saucer divine? Oh la la! Whenever I write in a cafe, somehow the reassuring background noise begins to fade as I get into the flow. (As long as the seats are comfortable, which is rare) Are you a café scribbler?
What got me thinking about the influence writers and illustrators have, when I was near Albury recently, was a little bit mind-blowing. We got to pick up our eleven year old granddaughter, Billie, from school. A rare privilege due to living far apart. Across the road from her school was a brightly coloured pub with some bizarre decorations. There was a truck on the roof and what looked like a crashed plane nearby.
My husband, Glyn, knew what it was immediately, even though he’d never been there. He was blown away and had to do a U-ey to see it up close. He told me it was the Ettamogah Pub; I was still in the dark. Billie filled me in. She told me it was famous because of a comic. Her school had been there for an excursion, so she knew all about it.
What struck me, a non comic reader, was that this was physical evidence of the influence writers and illustrators can have.
According to Auntie Google, Ken Maynard (1928-1998) was an Australian cartoonist featured in the now-defunct Australasian Post magazine. He was originally a police officer who didn’t drink or smoke, unlike his characters. I had a squiz at his work and it was distinctly Aussie. Maynard would have known he’d had an influence. I read that he officially opened the NSW pub and visited the opening of the Queensland pub. Apparently, there are four pubs in honour of the cartoons. I wonder how Ken felt about it all. I imagine he would have been chuffed to see his art and his stories come to life.
Writers and illustrators often sit quietly in a room, with pen and paper or a laptop, completely unaware of the outcome of their fastidious scribbling and splashing about. We might write to encourage someone to take up reading, to warm the heart, to give words to emotions too big to hold, to write something we would like to read. We write because it’s who we are. We write because we must. I say writers, I include illustrators in that. They are just as much writers except they write with pictures. Ken Maynard’s work is a perfect example.
If, like me, you feel compelled to write, you will know the outcome is irrelevant. One day, a young child might read your story and decide reading is the most amazing thing in the world. One day, a child may see your gorgeous illustrations and think, ‘That’s exactly how I feel.’ One day, you may have a pub built in honour of your work!
Whatever the outcome, it’s worth sitting at a desk or scribbling on a scrap of paper at another basketball game or piano recital. It’s worth the time it takes to nut out the characters and to wonder what clothes they like to wear and what they would eat for lunch and to wonder what on earth they have in their pocketses.
You may never know the influence you have on readers, and that’s ok. It’s not the point, is it? We write and we draw because we must.
What is your reason for creating art and stories, and how do you keep going in the quiet of your room? I’d love to hear about your process and what works for you.
Thank you for taking the time to read. Happy Autumn leaf collecting if, like me, you’re in the Southern Hemisphere. Happy Spring flower gathering if you’re not.
Rhiannon Dowding - Writer 